Chai, my people! Na serious gisting we go do today, as we dey look forward to EFL Cup semi-final wey go happen for St. James' Park this Tuesday, January 13. Newcastle United go face Manchester City for dis hot encounter.
As e be, Newcastle don waka enter semi-final after dem beat Fulham 2-1, while Man City don chop Brentford like say dem dey eat puff-puff, win dem 2-0. Right now, Newcastle dey sit for sixth position for EPL, just three points behind top-4, while City dey six points behind Arsenal, di league leaders.
Kickoff go land for 3 p.m. ET, and fans don dey ready, dem wan see who go carry di EFL Cup trophy go home. Bookmakers don already put Manchester City as favourite with odds wey be +115, meaning if you drop $100, you go fit win $115. Newcastle na underdog with odds +205, so na wetin you fit win if dem pull di upset.
Sports expert, Martin Green, no dey play, e don gather beta picks wey go help you if you wan wager for dis match. Dis guy don do dis sports writing matter for long, so if you follow am, you fit dey cash out small-small.
Newcastle dey hold di trophy after dem beat Liverpool 2-1 last year, and they dey determined to defend their title. Dem don already knock out top teams like Tottenham and Fulham to reach dis stage. But City no wan hear story; dem dey on 12 games unbeaten run.
The Manchester squad dey hot now, especially with Erling Haaland wey don score 39 goals dis season. Dem go chop Newcastle defense like say na jollof rice dem dey chop. But we gatz sabi say Newcastle get home advantage, and dem fit use di crowd as motivation to push for victory.
Sure, the Newcastle boys fit dey tired after dem play long 120 minutes against Bournemouth last weekend. But some key players like Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton no don even tire, as dem rest for bench during dat match. This one fit balance di game well, as dem go need all hands on deck to stop City from scoring.
Man City dey face their own wahala, as dem no fit limelight their best defenders due to injuries. Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Josko Gvardiol dey out. Dis defensive crisis fit give Newcastle hope say dem fit penetrate City defense. Newcastle sef don already score another 3 goals for di league games dis season, so dem sabi how to find net.
Di boys under Coach Eddie Howe don dey manage late drama well; dem fit score last-minute goals, and we don see am in di previous matches. Look how dem snatched victory from Leeds with last-gasp goal. If dem fit bring that form to dis match, e go make am very interesting.
At di end, e fit be tight match, as both teams get serious injuries to handle. But Newcastle go bulle-dive into di match with fire, as di fans dey ready to back dem. I dey see am as Newcastle fit carry di day with 2-1 win against City—even if na first leg, e go set di stage for di second leg.
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